English Courses

This course introduces students to a range of theoretical issues, interpretive strategies, and ttransdiciplinary interchanges that have transformed the study of English. Permission of instructor.

Eng 514 (Gog 514, His 514) The United States: An Interdisciplinary Approach (4)

An introductory review of the history, geography and cultures of the United States, with field trips and special projects on the U.S. Northeast. Designed for international students with an in-depth knowledge of their home countries, but with little experience of the United States, this interdisciplinary course integrates the perspectives of the social sciences and the humanities to analyze major themes and issues. It shows how these themes and issues relate to the unique history of the United States – the first nation to gain lasting freedom from European colonialism, a country mainly populated by descendents of immigrants, and for about a century, the world’s largest economy. In addition to their coursework and assignments, students will be required to do a research project on a course topic of their own choice.

Eng 515 Workshop in Poetry (4)

Intensive practice in writing poetry. Emphasis on development of poetic technique and individual styles. Students' work is discussed and criticized by all participants in the workshop. Instructors may bring to bear on the criticism of students' work a discussion of writings by pertinent authors. May be repeated for credit. S/U grading. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor.

Eng 516 Workshop in Fiction (4)

Intensive practice in writing fiction. Emphasis on development of fictional technique and individual styles. Students' work is discussed and criticized by all participants in the workshop. Instructors may bring to bear on the criticism of students' work a discussion of writings by pertinent authors. May be repeated for credit. S/U grading. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor.

Eng 517 Workshop in Non-Fiction Prose (4)

Intensive practice in writing non-fiction prose. The course accommodates a variety of genres, and emphasizes development of individual styles in accordance with students' needs. Students' writing is discussed and criticized by all participants in the workshop. Instructors may bring to bear on the criticism of students' work a discussion of writings by pertinent authors. May be repeated for credit. S/U grading. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor.

Eng 518 Workshop in Dramatic Writing (4)

Intensive practice in writing drama. The course emphasizes development of individual styles in accordance with students' needs. Students' writing is discussed and criticized by all participants in the workshop. Instructors may bring to bear on the criticism of student work a discussion of writings by pertinent authors. May be repeated for credit. S/U grading. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor.

Eng 521 History and Theory of Composition (4)

An introduction to composition theory, the field whose primary concern is writing: what it is, how it is taught and learned, and how it has come to be an object of study. May be repeated for credit when content varies.

Eng 522 History and Theory of Rhetoric (4)

A discussion of central figures and lines of thought within the Western rhetorical tradition from the GrecoRoman to the modern era. Emphasis on relations between rhetorical theory and the teaching of reading and writing. May be repeated for credit when content varies.

Eng 541 History of Literary Theory (4)

Study of theories about the nature and function of literature, with some attention to the social-historical framework, from classical culture to the end of the nineteenth century.

Eng 542 (Fre 614) Literary Criticism and Theory Since 1900 (4)

This course explores the debates and issues that have shaped the context for contemporary literary study, focusing in particular on the challenges to reading practices posed by theorists of the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries. May be repeated for credit when content varies.

Eng 555 Translation: Theory and Practice (4)

This course address the wide range of practices that fall under the heading "translation". Open to a range of topics and approaches, examples might include reading in Old English, translating literary language, and bi- or multi-lingual instruction. This course is a practicum, meaning that students will be expected to complete substantial translation projects in the course. As such, it will satisfy the "reading comprehension" language requirement for the doctoral program. May be repeated for credit when content varies.

Eng 560 Theories of Cultural, Transcultural and Global Studies (4)

An introduction to theoretical debates and methods of analysis in the field(s) of Cultural, Transcultural and Global Studies. Emphasis on key texts in the field(s) and broad questions that would underpin study within the field. May be repeated for credit when content varies.

Eng 580 Models of History in Literary Criticism (4)

This course explores the connections between the literary text and the social and political contexts within which the text is imagined and produced, with particular attention to the assumptions that govern the definition of both text and context. What challenges have contemporary critical theories (for instance, Marxist, feminist, post-structuralist) posed to our understanding of history? What does it mean to propose that a literary text has an historical effect? May be repeated for credit when content varies. May be repeated for credit when content varies.

Eng 581 Studies in a Literary Period (4)

Study of a given period in terms of the texts which comprise it and the contexts within which they have been traditionally understood. May be repeated for credit when content varies.

Eng 582 Studies in an Author (4)

Focus on a given author and his/her canon. Approach may shift between conventional ways of understanding authorship and a critique of these conventions. May be repeated for credit when content varies.

Eng 583 The History of English Studies (4)

This course explores the history of English as a subject of study in universities and colleges, its relation to other disciplines, its evolution, and its place in the current relationship between the humanities and sciences. Particular attention is given to the connections between graduate school education and public school policies and practices, to the history of writing instruction within the discipline, and to the role played by social and political issues in the evolution of the discipline. May be repeated for credit when content varies.

Eng 600 Theories and Practice of Creativity (4)

This course examines the theory and practice of creativity as such. Topics might include the following: an investigation of the commonality or uniqueness of various aesthetic modes or forms (poetry, music, visual arts); the evolution of theories of creativity over time; or educational theories of whether and how creativity might be taught or fostered. May be repeated for credit when content varies.

Eng 615 Poetics and Literary Practice (4)

Introduction to the forms, genres, and conventions of poetry and prose, intended to develop an awareness among practicing writers and critics of the traditions of their craft. Extensive reading in appropriate literary texts.

Eng 621 Current Trends in Rhetorical Theory and Research (4)

This course examines current scholarship and research in the field of Rhetoric and writing. This might be taught either as an in-depth examination of one particular branch of rhetorical study, as a comparative examination of multiple aspects of contemporary Rhetorical Theory, or as an examination of writing research methods. May be repeated for credit when content varies.

Eng 622 Workshop in Academic Writing (4)

Intensive practice in writing and revising academic scholarship. The course will allow graduate students to revise substantial scholarly projects in a structured academic setting. Examples of such work might include revising a seminar paper for publication or for inclusion into a thesis or dissertation chapter. Students' work is discussed and criticized by all participants in the workshop. Instructors may bring to bear on the criticism of student work a discussion of writings by pertinent authors. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor.

Eng 641 Critical Methods: Testing the Limits (4)

Testing of potential and limits of various critical methods (for instance, historical, formal, feminist) in the context of texts from different periods and genres, focusing on the issue of the kind of evidence required to apply a particular critical methodology. How, for example, do we do feminist readings of medieval literature, historical readings of modern writers, formal analysis of popular ballads? Extensive reading in appropriate literary texts.

Eng 642 Current Trends in Critical Theory (4)

Investigation of a particular contemporary initiative in literary theory, attempting both to understand it in its own terms and to contextualize it. May be repeated for credit when content varies.

Eng 651 Theories of Language (4)

A consideration of a range of issues pertinent to the role of language in literary and cultural production and reception. Theories of language, literary language, symbol, semiotics, rhetoric and translation are among the topics included in the course.

Eng 660 Transnational or Global Studies (4)

This course examines issues that situate English studies within broader transnational, global, or planetary contexts. It addresses trends, movements, or problems that cannot adequately be analyzed within the boundaries of national literature or culture. Possible topics might include postcolonial literatures, ecological crises and their cultural implications, colonial or imperial archives, globalization and culture, among others.

Eng 661 Race, Gender, Class, and Sexuality (4)

This course examines issues of gender, race, class and/or sexuality. Particular attention will be paid to the active historical forces that constitute such social formations, and to the effects that gender, race, class and sexuality have on literary and cultural expression and representation. May be repeated for credit when content varies.

Eng 680 Seminar: Problems of Periodization and Canonicity (4)

Questioning of concepts of literary periods and canons, and investigation of the assumptions governing the identification of literary periods and the selection of texts to represent periods and constitute canons. Why, for example, is 1789-1820 more familiar as a period than 1810-1840? What assumptions produce the distinction between major and minor authors? Particular attention given to questions arising from the study of women and minority writers.

Eng 681 Seminar: Texts/Authors and Their Critics (4)

Study of texts, authors, or groups of authors in their historical contexts, and in relation to the critical traditions that have been built around, upon, or in ignorance of them. Why have certain writings, or aspects of writings, been regarded as more important than others (for instance, Shakespeare in general, Hamlet in particular, certain readings of the play over others)? Taught in a variety of ways, with, for example, reference to "neglected" writers (Clare, Burns, Smedley, Lourde) or to groupings of writers by race, gender, class, ethnicity.

Eng 685 Special Topics (4)

Topics, which may be treated in seminars, include but are not limited to the study of genre, movement, region, and specific intersections between the "literary" and the "historical."

Eng 693 General Reading in English (1-12 L.E.U.)

Individual work in preparation for the qualifying examination for the M.A. in English. Students registering for Eng 693 indicate the portion of their total semester load devoted to it by listing an appropriate number of 'load equivalent units' instead of credit. May be repeated. Prerequisite: Consent of the director of graduate studies in English.

Eng 694 Direct Readings in English (1-4)

A course of reading designed primarily by the student under the direct supervision of a member of the faculty to explore a significant problem of interest. Prerequisite: Open only to students in the M.A. program with the consent of the director of graduate studies in English. No more than a total of 4 credits of directed reading may be applied toward M.A. requirements. S/U grading.

Eng 698 Master's Research Tutorial and Examination (4)

Independent study in a topic developed by the student in conjunction with a faculty committee consisting of a minimum of two members. The tutorial culminates in an examination based upon a reading list approved by the committee.

Eng 698C Master's Research Tutorial Continuation (1)

Load Graded. Appropriate for master's students engaged in research and independent study for the master's examination beyond the level applicable to their degree program.

Eng 699 Master's Thesis (4)

Research and writing the Master's thesis in conjunction with a faculty committee consisting of a minimum of two members.

Eng 699C Master's Thesis Continuation (1)

Load Graded. Appropriate for master's students engaged in research and writing of the master's thesis beyond the level applicable to their degree program.

Eng 710 Textual Studies I: Survey (4)

This course provides a broad survey of the critical, theoretical, and rhetorical perspectives that can be used in the study of literature and culture. It includes a representative historical overview of critical methodologies that have emerged in the past several decades of the profession, as well as the study of current modes of critical discourse and interpretation.

Eng 720 Textual Studies II (4)

This course provides an advanced, intensive study of a set of theoretical or critical issues related to the study of literature and culture, narrowing the broader, introductory focus provided in Eng 710. Course topics may be particular subjects addressed by a range of various critical perspectives; or they can be a set of related issues contained within a particular tradition of critical theory or poetics. Particular attention will be paid to putting concepts or methodologies to work in considering specific literary or cultural examples.

Eng 770 Teaching Writing and Literature (4)

Required of all doctoral students in their first year of study. This course examines current issues in the teaching of writing and literature, with attention to how teachers think students learn, and the institutional context within which teaching and learning occur. Particular attention will be given to how issues of gender, race and class affect teaching theory and practice.

Eng 771 Practicum in Teaching Writing and Literature (4)

This course serves as a pedagogical venue for learning about the practical dynamics of teaching, in which students work as a group and one-on-one with a faculty member in planning and administering a particular undergraduate course. Prerequisite: English 770.

Eng 810 English Internship (0-4)

Designed for projects in appropriate professional contexts, including team-teaching with faculty, teaching English in nontraditional settings, serving in administrative capacities, or working with publications housed in the department. No more than a total of 4 credits of Internship credit may be applied toward doctoral requirements.

Eng 815 English Workshop (0-2)

Variable credit workshop course, designed to accommodate partial-semester writing, editing, or pedagogical workshop courses. Examples include poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction Master Classes with Writer’s Institute Fellows. No more than a total of 4 credits of Workshop at the 800-level may be applied toward doctoral requirements.

Eng 893 General Readings in English (1-12 L.E.U.)

Individual work in preparation for the qualifying examinations for the doctorate in English. Students registering for Eng 893 indicate the portion of their total semester load devoted to it by listing an appropriate number of 'load equivalent units' instead of credits. Prerequisite: Consent of the director of graduate studies in English.

Eng 894 Directed Readings in English (1-4)

A course of reading designed primarily by the student under the direct supervision of a member of the faculty to explore a significant problem of interest. Prerequisite: Open only to students in English. No more than a total of 4 credits of Directed Readings at the 800-level may be applied toward D.A. or Ph.D. requirements. S/U grading.

Eng 899 Doctoral Dissertation (1)

Load graded. Appropriate for doctoral students engaged in research and writing of the dissertation. Prerequisite: Admission to doctoral candidacy.